Why Blood Type Matters with COVID-19 Infection

Scientists have discovered why a specific blood type is likely associated with an increased risk of having a severe COVID-19 infection. Learn more here.

A new study was recently released that sheds more light on the connection between ⁠blood type and COVID-19 infection. Scientists report that the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is attracted to the blood group A antigen found on respiratory cells.

What Scientists Learned About Blood Type A and COVID-19

For a while, researchers have known that there appears to be a link between blood type and the risk of COVID-19 infection. Studies have found that people with blood type A tend to have increased susceptibility to coronavirus infection and also have an increased risk of having more severe COVID-19. The studies also found that people with blood type O, on the other hand, are more likely to have less severe COVID-19 infections.

The association between blood type and risk from COVID has been a hotly debated topic, with some researchers finding an association and others finding no association whatsoever. New research, however, appears to substantiate that blood type does, in fact, impact risk from COVID-19… and explains why!

The new research focuses on a protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus known as the receptor-binding domain (RBD). The RBD is what the coronavirus uses to attach to human cells. Researchers investigating how the RBD works found important differences in how the virus attaches to human lung cells when they studied people with blood type A compared to people with other blood types.

The scientists found that people with blood type A had slightly different respiratory (lung) cells than people with blood type B and blood type O. While SARS-CoV-2 strongly prefers binding to lung cells in people with blood group A, it does not bind as strongly to lung cells in people with blood groups B or O.

It appears this is why blood type impacts a person’s risk of COVID-19! A person’s blood type has an impact upon a person’s lung cells, with coronavirus binding strongest to the lung cells of people with blood type A.

How the Medical Community Intends to Use the Information

A person’s blood type is inherited and is determined by the person’s ABO gene. Even though we can’t change a person’s blood type, this new information can help researchers find new medicines, methods of prevention, and treatment that may be personalized to a person based on their blood type.

For example, a treatment may be developed that may work better in people with blood type A while a different treatment may be developed that works best in people with blood types B and O.

Learn Your Blood Type For Free

How You Can Use the Information

Knowing your blood type can provide insight into COVID-19 infection risk and severity. Those with blood type A appear to be more likely to become infected by the virus and have an increased risk of suffering a severe infection and complications leading to hospitalization.

While everyone should consider having the vaccine regardless of their blood type, those with blood type A have an additional reason to add to the list of why a vaccine is important.

It’s also wise to know your blood type to enforce the necessity of incorporating daily preventive measures to avoid contracting the virus. Knowing blood type for those who do contract the virus can encourage those with blood type A to be hypervigilant of the severity of symptoms and to seek medical care as soon as complications are detected.

Find Out Your Blood Type for Free

It doesn’t cost anything to learn your blood type if you’ve taken a DNA test. Simply upload raw DNA data to Sequencing.com. You can then use the ⁠Free Blood Type Analysis app in our ⁠DNA App Store to find out your blood type.

You can then learn more about what your blood type may mean for your health by analyzing your DNA with the ⁠Blood Traits and Conditions app as well as the wide-range of DNA analysis apps and reports available for health, wellness, genealogy and more.

23andMe Blood Type

If you’ve taken a DNA test from 23andMe, Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, or a similar genetic testing company, those companies don’t provide your blood type. The good news is that the raw DNA data obtained by those company’s tests do contain the information needed to determine your blood type.

Simply upload your DNA data by clicking the link above and then use our free Blood Type Analysis app. This app will analyze your raw DNA data from any of those companies and provide your blood type.

Once your data is stored in your Sequencing.com account, you can also use any of the other free DNA analysis apps and reports to transform your DNA data into useful information that can’t be obtained anywhere else. These free apps and reports are located in the ‘Free’ category of the ⁠DNA App Store.

Order A DNA Kit

Haven’t taken a DNA test? No problem! The $69 ⁠Ultimate DNA Test from Sequencing.com will provide almost 30 million data points throughout your DNA. The test data can be used to determine your blood type as well as a lot more information about health and ancestry.

Additional Information About Blood Type and COVID-19

You can also learn more about ⁠Coronavirus and DNA by reading these articles in the ⁠Education Center:

Questions? Contact us with any questions you may have about DNA testing and analysis.